About Me
My Work
In 2017, I was officially appointed the Hempstead Village Historian. I was by then a published author, a longtime professional copy editor, and an adjunct English professor at both the New York Institute of Technology and Nassau Community College.
In 2018, I wrote Hempstead Village, an Images of America book produced by Arcadia Publishing. I also wrote "The Presidents and Mayors of Hempstead," a 19,000-word historical account of the leaders of Hempstead Village since its 1853 incorporation. The text and images I provided were incorporated into a display that covered three walls of Hempstead Village Hall during the village's 375th anniversary celebration. The photo to the left depicts part of the display, which remained in place until 2020.
From 2018 through 2025, I wrote weekly articles, both historical and contemporary, for our local paper, the Hempstead Beacon.
I now contribute articles to The Patch, a fully online paper.
I am working on a more extensive chronicle of Hempstead since its incorporation. Its working title is Hempstead: Path of Justice.
From May 2021 to August 2022, I was the editor and reporter of the Freeport Herald. I covered the Village of Freeport, which is located several miles southeast of Hempstead. During 2023, I covered Uniondale, the hamlet on Hempstead Village's eastern border, for the Uniondale Herald.
My young-adult biography of New York City Ballet founder George Balanchine, titled Balanchine: Russian American Ballet Master Emeritus, was published in 2012 by Branden Books.
My Community
To write about Hempstead is to articulate the good and bad of American history: settlement by the Dutch and the English on land populated by Native American communities, the evils of slavery and the near-elimination of the native groups, the growth of wealth as Long Island's suburbs developed, and the changing demographics during the 20th century.
In writing about my friends and neighbors here, I hope to add my voice to those who seek unity among all the groups and heritages of America.
The photo in this section is from November 2022. It shows Daniel Baxt, Bruce William Miller, and me in the extensive graveyard surrounding St. George's church. Mr. Baxt, a science teacher at Baldwin High School, had brought one of his classes to St. George's for a tour of the graveyard and a study of weathering on the aged grave monuments. Mr. Miller is a descendant of the Clowes, a founding Hempstead family; he is restoring several Clowes grave monuments and was there on the day Mr. Baxt and his class came. I provided the historical information and guided the tour.
Join My Journey
As I continue writing and publishing, I welcome comments to my blog. All comments will be reviewed by me for appropriateness before I post them.
The dramatic photo with flags and guns shows a Revolutionary War reenactment at St. George's in June 2022. The soldiers are members of two historical reenactment regiments: the 3rd New York of the Continental Line, and the 23rd Regiment of Foot Royal Welch Fusilliers.